What exactly counts as antidepressants working?

[cookiencream]

I'm asking this because I don't think I'm a normal use case for antidepressants. I'm from a small country where mental health isn't taken seriously and instead it's put through a religious lense. I was prescribed fluoxetine at 20mg and never had any follow-ups to ask how I'm adjusting or the side effects to see if I need an adjustment in dose or medication.

There isn't even a "plan" I'm following, I'm just getting a prescription from a regular doctor (not a psychiatrist, who doesn't even think I need them) every month to refill. I feel lost cause no professional is guiding me, I still feel severely suicidal a week or two before my period and during it as well. I tend to hurt myself around then because of how bad it gets. I usually feel "okay" in the way I feel when I'm not having a depressive episode, which is just....still depressed but less intense? I don't know if that's normal or not cause I'm so lost. That's not even discussing the sexual side effects, I don't even think I can bring them up as a reason to adjust anything cause of how religious my country is.


Any help would be appreciated...

 

[nayomi]

Antidepressant pretty much earmuff your emotions.they can cause your situation to be worst tho

 

[NZkiwi]

I'm asking this because I don't think I'm a normal use case for antidepressants. I'm from a small country where mental health isn't taken seriously and instead it's put through a religious lense. I was prescribed fluoxetine at 20mg and never had any follow-ups to ask how I'm adjusting or the side effects to see if I need an adjustment in dose or medication.

There isn't even a "plan" I'm following, I'm just getting a prescription from a regular doctor (not a psychiatrist, who doesn't even think I need them) every month to refill. I feel lost cause no professional is guiding me, I still feel severely suicidal a week or two before my period and during it as well. I tend to hurt myself around then because of how bad it gets. I usually feel "okay" in the way I feel when I'm not having a depressive episode, which is just....still depressed but less intense? I don't know if that's normal or not cause I'm so lost. That's not even discussing the sexual side effects, I don't even think I can bring them up as a reason to adjust anything cause of how religious my country is.


Any help would be appreciated...

Hi I'm just some dude on the internet,
This is not medical advice
I am not a health professional on this forum



****

From my experience, there are 3 catagories anti-depressents are supposed to improve
- Activity
- Cognition
- Emotion

Here is a diagram that explains the depession better than I can lol



Heavy reading but here are the clinical guidlines for mood disorders in Australia/New Zealand if you are interested

 

[Insufficent]

Depression is like having shit in your pants. Taking antidepressant make you not to give a fuk having shit in your pants but in the end of the day, you still have shit in your pants.

 

[cookiencream]

Depression is like having shit in your pants. Taking antidepressant make you not to give a fuk having shit in your pants but in the end of the day, you still have shit in your pants.

So I can't do anything about this?

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

My feeling has always been that they're working if you feel more or less unfazed by things. You should be experiencing less emotional spikes, and less or no phases of anxiety (attacks), hopelessness, despair, and tearfulness. So I would think about your general demeanor. Are you calmer overall? You should ideally be having less racing thoughts, for example. Also consider your sleep - are you getting better and deeper rest? These are the kinds of things to ask yourself.

 

[Insufficent]

So I can't do anything about this?

For me, the medication worked after a while.

My feeling has always been that they're working if you feel more or less unfazed by things. You should be experiencing less emotional spikes, and less or no phases of anxiety (attacks), hopelessness, despair, and tearfulness. So I would think about your general demeanor. Are you calmer overall? You should ideally be having less racing thoughts, for example. Also consider your sleep - are you getting better and deeper rest? These are the kinds of things to ask yourself.

And this is how it pretty much worked.

 

[SweetChariot]

I'm asking this because I don't think I'm a normal use case for antidepressants. I'm from a small country where mental health isn't taken seriously and instead it's put through a religious lense. I was prescribed fluoxetine at 20mg and never had any follow-ups to ask how I'm adjusting or the side effects to see if I need an adjustment in dose or medication.

There isn't even a "plan" I'm following, I'm just getting a prescription from a regular doctor (not a psychiatrist, who doesn't even think I need them) every month to refill. I feel lost cause no professional is guiding me, I still feel severely suicidal a week or two before my period and during it as well. I tend to hurt myself around then because of how bad it gets. I usually feel "okay" in the way I feel when I'm not having a depressive episode, which is just....still depressed but less intense? I don't know if that's normal or not cause I'm so lost. That's not even discussing the sexual side effects, I don't even think I can bring them up as a reason to adjust anything cause of how religious my country is.


Any help would be appreciated...

Sorry that i can't offer advice since i am also very new with medication (fluoxetine as well) but i can highly relate with your situation
I tried going to a psychiatrist with the free healthcare in my country and thought that besides medicine, I could at least have a chance to chat but the doctor although quite nice are really just interested in my specific moods and what to prescribe, i only got 15 minutes and they left me with a fluoxetine regime, i'm also kinda lost as to how i should expect it to work right now